Musical Wars
Chapter 18
Xander sat on a chunk of fallen ceiling folding and unfolding the same corner of paper. The conversation seemed to have petered out after pages of "yes, I'm fine" and "where did you meet Tara?" and the whole "what happened here?" that had sent Willow on a crying jag. Tara still knelt beside her in the ruins with her arms wrapped around Willow who had gone from crying to just staring into space.
Xander reached up and itched a bit of cheek under a strap, silently blessing Spike for giving him an excuse to not talk because the awkward silence was babble-worthy. Heck, Willow totally would have been babbling if not for the whole crying, staring, lost in the depths of despair thing she had going on.
Larry reached over in the silence, plucking the pen from Xander's hand.
'Willow blew up the school,' Larry wrote in a scrawled hand. Okay, that surprised Xander, both Larry writing, obviously not wanting to say it in front of Willow and the whole Willow blowing up the school. Hell, if someone was going to blow up a school, Xander would have put himself much higher on the list of potential arsonists. He hated school, but the Willow he'd known would have hyperventilated if she ripped a page in a library book much less burned a library and the rest of the school along with it.
'???' Xander reached over to write. Something must have let Spike know that he was upset because the vampire stalked back toward them, still chain smoking so that a gray plume followed his head. Larry immediately tilted the pad of paper toward Spike while writing. Spike leaned against a beam near the other side of the room, his eyes flicking to the paper for a second before turning and watching Faith balance on a tilting beam that straddled an old desk. Xander rolled his eyes at Mr. Overprotectiveness.
Larry tilted the pad of paper back toward Xander so he could read. 'Jenny had magical pow powder for blowing up box. Big fight. Spiders came out of box. Willow blew up spider. Spider fire blew up pow powder. Powder blew up school and mayor.'
Xander nodded absent-mindedly, and then spiders plus explosions rang the memory bell. He took the pen back.
'Wendell?' he wrote, the sound of the pen scritching over the paper the only noise other than the faint creaking of the wood beam that Faith balanced on. Larry blinked several times, ignoring the pen Xander held out. After a second, Larry got up and walked away from the group, abandoning both the paper and his ax as he headed out a hole in the crumbled wall.
And fuck. Just a few seconds too late, Xander remember the part of his conversation with Willow where she talked about Wendell and Larry going to prom together, and yeah, even with his mouth gagged, Xander had a real ability to say the wrong thing. Xander could only watch and silently kick himself as he added one more person to the 'horribly offended' list.
Xander jumped when Spike's hand rested on his shoulder before the vamp dropped onto the wall next to Xander.
"Ya alright, pet?" he asked. Xander nodded and waved a hand absent-mindedly toward the gap where Larry had disappeared.
"Boy needs some space," Spike commented.
Xander grabbed the abandoned pad and scribbled, 'no duh.'
"Brat," Spike complained without actually sounding very complainy.
"I blew up Wendell when I blew up the school," Willow whispered from her place in the ruins. "I tried to blow up a spider, but I blew up Wendell and then the supplies we brought caught fire."
"It wasn't your fault," a deep voice said, and Xander turned to find Angel stepping in through the gap where Larry had just fled. Riley followed, dressed in army green, and two other men followed. One looked a lot like Riley with the whole military clean look, and the second one, an African American, had a real Gunn thing going on.
"I'm thinking it was my fault what with me doing the magical blowing," Willow said softly.
"The spider had already bitten him, he would have died in agony even if we had gotten him out," Angel insisted.
"Still, blowing up my best friend…" Willow stopped, her breath coming in ragged sobs.
"Still know how ta cheer up a room, don't ya?" Spike asked Angel as he stood up. Xander would have stood up next to his sire, but Spike's hand resting on his shoulder held him in place.
"Shut up, Spike."
"Oh yeah, clever come back, Peaches."
"Isn't that…?" the soldier behind Riley stopped as he brought his gun up.
"Hostile Seven, one of the escaped hostiles," the other soldier added.
"Stand down. Hostile Seven is helping with trying to shut down this demon conspiracy," Riley ordered. "Graham, Forest… this is Spike. The girls are Willow and Tara. These are Graham Miller and Forest Gates." Riley made quick introduction, but Xander noticed that he had been left conspicuously out despite the fact that both soldiers looked at him strangely, which was not so surprising considering the whole muzzle.
"Yeah, stand down," Spike suggested with a tone that promised a whole lot of bloodshed if guns didn't go down. Forrest raised his gun a little higher, but Riley reached out and pushed the end of the weapon down toward the ground.
"Stand down," Riley snapped. "We have readings for multiple hostiles in the area." Riley offered.
"Buddy, there are always multiple hostiles in this area. Welcome to the Hellmouth," Larry said as he climbed back in the gap, coming over to Xander to retrieve his ax. "Sorry I bailed on you there. Some things, just, you know," Larry offered with a half shrug. "So, do we have any bad guys in need of dismembering?" he asked the new arrivals.
"God, I hope so. I'm going to die of boredom if something slimy or horny doesn't walk through that door soon," Faith offered while still balancing on her board and gesturing toward the charred outline of cafeteria doors.
"Careful what you ask for on the Hellmouth, luv."
"Let's focus," Angel interrupted, causing Spike to roll his eyes. "We have rumors of a ceremony this week, and the Vahrall have been spotted near here. Whatever is going to happen will happen soon."
"Not soon enough, A. I'm dying here," Faith objected.
"You won't say that when you face the hostiles," Graham commented. Faith froze mid-balance and then started to laugh hard enough that she had to jump down.
"Babe, I've been facing 'hostiles' for the better part of a year, which puts me on the list of one of the more successful slayers. But I'm not big on hanging around waiting for someone to show up, so I'm hoping your plan includes some action. Otherwise, I'm going to go hit a graveyard or two to find a quick fight."
"I say we flush 'em out. Call the soldier boys' friends in and point them at the court," Spike suggested. "We could see what rats come crawling off the sinking ship."
"And how many humans would die?" Angel demanded.
"Don't soddin' care," Spike answered. Angel stood with his jaw flexing as he fought some internal battle, but Spike just pulled out another cigarette. "If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it."
"Can I just say that getting in the middle with the court and the Initiative and the Vahrall is sounding kinda not good?" Willow said as she sat up. "Middle tends to be bad."
"We can't just stand around and hope the hostiles show up," Graham pointed out.
"We don't need to wait." Tara pointed toward the large opening where doors once hung. Striding toward them, three green demons growled.
"Bloody hell," Spike said. The blast of three automatic weapons opening fire made Xander fall backwards off his seat, but when he came up, he had pulled his largest knife. The soldiers had already abandoned their automatic weapons in favor of tazers, but Larry with his ax was actually faring better. The Vahrall simply ignored the tazers, and Forrest went down under a vicious punch.
One of the demons, his horns curving backwards like really bad helmet-hair, shook his head and chanted as the ground started to shake, but his words ended in a bubbly growl as a knife sunk into his throat. Xander lost track of what everyone else was doing as he threw himself at the nearest demon, which happened to be the one who had just knocked Larry to the floor.
Xander darted in, slicing the demon's arm and then ducking back as the demon took a swipe at him with a nasty looking claw. The world tilted red and Xander tasted blood as a fang caught his lip. On the floor, Larry scrambled out of the way while Xander dodged in again, this time scoring a hit on the demon's thigh. His knife stuck in the thick skin, and Xander moved a little too slow.
The demon caught him with a punch to his back that sent him to his knees, but Xander retaliated with a knife strike to the back of the creature's knee. First target, a head or anything that looks like a head; second target, joints. Xander mutely thanked Spike for that lesson as the Vahrall staggered to the side, giving Xander time to get to his feet.
The creature opened its mouth in a furious roar that made Xander want to growl his answer, but Larry appeared behind the demon. Larry sunk the ax into the creature, burying the steel so far into the demon's skull that Xander knew it was dead before it hit the ground. Xander twisted around, ready to take on the next demon, but the other two were already on the ground, reddish-purple blood oozing from multiple wounds and a few dismembered limbs scattered on the floor.
"Okay, as apocalypse go, that was a major disappointment," Faith said as she lifted her sword and let the blade rest on her shoulder. "Is anyone else disappointed?"
"I know I am," a child's voice offered from the open gap that had once been a set of doors. Xander felt Baby withdraw in fear as the Anointed one walked through the opening.
"Anointed One," Angel said respectfully as he took a step forward. Xander took about four steps back so that he stood next to Spike as other vampires filed into the room behind the child-sized Master Vampire. Colin stood at the Anointed One's back, sword ready while the minions scattered across the room. One tried to slide around their group to the back, and Spike snarled a warning that sent the fledge cringing back.
"Angelus. I am disappointed in your interference. I thought we had an arrangement." The child vampire stood looking around at the group, his disdain obvious.
"I won't let the Hellmouth open. Defending it is not a breech of our agreement."
Xander watched as Willow's mouth fell open as she stared at Angel. Oh yeah, the great broody one had definitely failed to mention having a deal with the current Master of the Hellmouth.
"But acting against me is a breech of our agreement," the Anointed One said softly. He took a step forward, and Colin moved to his side, fangs showing.
"I acted against the Vahrall. Certainly you have no wish to see our dimension pulled into theirs." Angel remained respectful, but he didn't back down. Instead, he stared at the Anointed One with yellowed eyes.
"But I told your childe that the Vahrall were part of my plan. Or perhaps Spike is no longer under your protection." The Anointed One looked toward Spike, and Xander could feel his sire's body stiffen at the challenge.
"I don't bloody need—"
"He's mine," Angel snarled as he interrupted Spike.
"He doesn't act like he's yours."
Xander looked from one vampire to the other, feeling the currents pulling at them as Angel vamped out and glared at Spike only to have Spike glare back.
"Can fight my own fights," Spike growled. Angel didn't bother to answer; he closed the distance in two strides and grabbed Spike by the back of the neck.
"You're mine, boy," Angel said loudly before dropping his voice, "and I won't let you throw yourself against him because I don't know how to feel about the fact that you'll always be mine," Angel whispered into Spike's ear as he yanked Spike close to him. "Just keep your head down and back me up, and for once in your unlife, follow orders."
Spike shoved back at Angel, making Angel take a small step backwards. "Got recognized as a Master without you, ya overgelled poof."
"William," Angel warned.
"Wot? Ya don't have the knackers to make me submit."
Xander was on the edge of hyperventilating-type panic when he saw Spike tilt his head slightly. And that was not a challenging look Spike gave Angel as the larger vampire blocked the Anointed One's view of their little exchange.
"Spike, don't," Angel said as he stepped into Spike's space. Spike tilted his head a fraction more.
"Or what? Soddin' souled up excuse—"
Spike didn't get a chance to say any more before Angel drove fangs deep into Spike, drinking his blood while jerking Spike's body into his own. The sounds of sucking stopped, but neither moved.
"Ya need more," Spike whispered, his words little more than a breath, but Angel pulled back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Angel glanced over to Xander, bringing up a hand to rest on Xander's cheek for a second before giving the muzzle a sharp tug. As Angel turned to face the Anointed One again, Xander realized Angel had opened a buckle. Xander looked toward Spike for guidance, and Spike reached over and pulled another buckle free.
Getting the point, Xander unhooked the rest of the muzzle, and pulled Baby's strength up to the surface, feeling his mouth ache as fangs pushed out. He understood the silent message in Angel's act. If things went bad, Xander would need every advantage in fighting, and a vampire's fangs could be a deadly asset, one they couldn't afford to muzzle.
"Spike's mine, and he falls under my protection," Angel said as he stepped forward again. The girls and Larry had pushed closer to Spike and Xander, but all three soldiers stood their ground, spread out in a triangle shape and ready for a fight. Faith remained to the side, her sword held out in front while a couple of minions sneered at her.
"You have failed to open a portal," a deeper voice said as the Mohra stepped into the room, it's skull-like face turning to consider each creature in the ruins before turning to the Anointed One.
"I haven't failed. It will simply take a little longer," the small vampire answered, and much of the arrogance slipped away.
"You promised tonight."
"I will still succeed. I have the spells to control and direct the portal, and in time, I will find a way to open it. I will control the pathway between the worlds. I have the power; you have seen this," the Anointed One insisted. The Mohra considered him with snake eyes.
"Your power is insignificant." With that, the Mohra turned and left. Xander could feel the shockwave in the room as vampires shifted. As creatures sensitive to power and status, other vampires nervously glanced toward the Anointed One as some of his status melted under him, but the tiny Master continued to stand there, looking as unperturbed as ever.
"You have cost me considerably, Angelus. Our arrangement was that you would stay out of clan business."
"Our arrangement was that I wouldn't go after you," Angel corrected him as he took another step forward. Colin growled and stepped in front of his master.
"And now the head of the Aurelius line must be defended? Is that what the line has come to?" Angel asked with a sweet smile, but Xander could feel the shifting fears run through the minions. Their demons demanded that they follow the strongest, only they weren't as sure about who was strongest any more.
"And I would hate to think that you have violated that arrangement. Your slayer is so helpless lying in that bed. It would take the weakest minion only a moment to drain her."
"Yeah, well they'd have to go through me first," Faith threw out there as she squared off against the Anointed One.
"And our arrangement does not shield the current slayer, even if it does put your pets and childe under your protection."
"Faith." Angel barely breathed the word.
"No problem, Big-A. I don't need a shield because I can take this one out by myself. So, if you have some sort of deal with him for Buffy's life, I'm five-by-five with that. Just keep the minions off my back while I turn this one into dust."
Xander had no idea whether confidence or bravado inspired the words, but the minions shifted again, and Xander could feel Baby's growing contempt rattling around just below the surface. The little vampire failed. His plan failed. His allies called him weak and abandoned him. The slayer challenged him.
"Step back, Faith." Angel's voice carried no emotion.
"Not a chance."
Angel stepped forward and grabbed Faith by the back of her neck, pulling her off balance with that hand while he grabbed her sword arm with the other. "You will not challenge him because I will taste his blood, so step back or challenge me," Angel snarled, his game face now forward. Faith jerked in his grip, the scent of fear drifting through the room, and Xander growled in response. Spike's hand rested on his arm and anchored him.
"Slayer, ya don't want to go up against Angel, he's a right bastard when given a chance, and ya know that. So just come wait with the witches, alright?"
Faith's eyes flicked toward them, and then Angel gave her a shake and let her go. Xander held his breath as the slayer stood, sword in hand, and looked from Angel to Spike. And right about now, Xander really wished he had some cool power like telepathy because she was totally not getting it. She glanced toward Willow and then to him, and Xander mouthed the word 'please.'
Finally, she started backing away from Angel, her sword held up defensively as she put herself between Angel and the rest of her F-team. Angel didn't even glance at her as he stared down the Anointed One. Oh yeah, Angel with his back to a slayer, so confident of her submission, and that had an effect on the minions. And it didn't hurt that the girl who hadn't batted an eye at challenging the Anointed One now smelled of fear and uncertainty.
"You aren't worthy of challenge, souled one," Colin hissed as he moved forward. Before Xander could blink, Spike had darted past Angel, grabbing Colin while the vampire was still focused on Angel, and ripping his head from his neck in one vicious twist. Xander growled at the nearest minion, expecting the free for all to start at the Anointed One yelled for an attack.
Instead, only a few random minions darted toward them. Faith neatly decapitated one while Spike took out two in a furious attack and Riley staked another without moving out of position. Xander grabbed the one who flung himself in their general direction and tangled his fingers in the long, stringy hair, yanking the head to the side. The vampire hissed and clawed at Xander's legs, but Xander just drove his fangs deep into the soft flesh of the minion's neck and started drinking.
For a second, Xander found himself sliding under Baby's surge of triumph, the primal act of feeding on the enemy making Baby roar his power. Then Spike turned and looked at him, one eyebrow raised in question, and Xander forced Baby back, resorting to his own feelings of nausea as he considered that he was eating a sentient creature. Yeah, an evil, deserving to die vampire type creature, but eating of the walking, talking, thinking sort of enemy really didn't work well with his stomach. He let go.
"Ew," he said softly as the vampire slumped to the ground at Xander's feet.
"Seconding that," Larry said right before he drove a stake down into the vampire's heart. The minion exploded dust all over Xander and Larry, ash sliding down Xander's leather as he smiled sheepishly and shrugged at Larry's strange look.
Xander turned back to where the Anointed One now stepped forward toward Angel. Spike backed off some, growling at a couple of other minions who had edged forward until the Anointed One's followers pressed themselves to the sides of the room.
"Slayer, get yourself and the other humans out of here," Spike said softly as he took a position in front of Xander.
"But…"
Spike snarled as he whipped around to face her. "Bloody hell, that gap only lets one through at a time, and there are seven of ya. If this comes down to a fight, we're not goin' to be able to all get out that gap, so get your bloody humans and get them the hell out of here."
"I won't leave," Riley said as he watched Angel and the Anointed One stare at each other in the cleared center of the room.
"Then you're a bloody fool because he wants ya out," Spike hissed. "He's made peace with the clan for three years, and he's challenging now just to save your sorry hides, so go on then, get yourself killed anyway so he has somethin' to brood about later."
Riley hesitated, his knife hand trembling slightly so that the metal twinkled in the dim light filtering down from the shattered roof.
"Come on, soldier boy. He who fights and runs away lives to kick serious demon ass another day," Faith said as she tugged at his arm. Riley finally yielded and let her pull him toward the gap in the wall where Willow was just now sliding out into the night.
Xander looked at Spike as the others fled. This was clan business, so it felt right for the others to leave, but Xander didn't know what he felt. Baby stirred uncomfortably, a cold wind circling the room even though most of the walls still stood.
"Sire?" he whispered, watching Spike's fists curl as Angel and the Anointed One started circling.
"We submit to whoever wins and hope like hell it's Peaches. We've done all we can," Spike answered the unspoken question just as Angel lunged forward into battle.